This invention relates to liquid mixing equipment and, more particularly, to a rotating fluid jet agitator which is effective in mixing, dispersing, dissolving and suspending powders in liquids, and which is particularly useful for wettable powder and other dry formulations of agricultural chemicals in sprayable mixtures.
In the application of agricultural chemicals, such as herbicides, fungicides, insecticides and the like, to commercial crops, a common practice is to disperse solid pesticidal formulations into water, and then to spray the aqueous dispersion or solution over plants, soil, etc. to achieve uniform distribution of the active ingredient(s) on the target. There is a need for improving the methods and equipment used to insure uniform coverage at the desired rate rapidly, efficiently, and with minimum waste and equipment pluggage. Normally, several pesticides are combined into one sprayable mixture for convenience. With the development of new wettable powder and granular formulations and water soluble packages, and with a continuing trend towards more concentrated slurries and mixtures, many kinds of conventional mixing equipment, particularly the stationary fluid jet type, are no longer adequate for preparing sprayable mixtures, particularly when the pesticides are added to the aqueous mixture rapidly and in bulk.